Patrick placed the phone down on the table and let out a long breath. Saira was alive. And with Spencer involved, there was a chance she might actually co out of the prison. He had to stop that from happening before things slid downhill faster. And his own health was on the brink...
He sighed again and headed for the study, where his father would be. After a brief knock, he stepped inside.
Sir Robert Collins looked up and smiled. "Patrick? How are you feeling now?"
He returned the smile but it was clear to anyone who knew him that it was not a genuine one.. "Much better, Father. Though who knows how long that’ll last..."
"Don’t say that, son! I’ve been talking to every expert I can get my hands on. They’ve already started digging into your case. I’m sure soone will co through soon. Until then, you will have the best diet according to the plan and I want you to rest well. Leave all the stress to .
Patrick gave him a faint smile, but didn’t say anything more. He didn’t have it in him to fake hope right now. He was actually looking forward to this death but his only worry was Adir.
"Father... there’s sothing I’ve been aning to tell you," he said, his voice flat.
Sothing in his tone made Sir Collins pause. He lowered the paper in his hands and turned fully to face Patrick, his expression shifting as if bracing for sothing he couldn’t yet na. Patrick let out a breath and sat down in the chair opposite him, clenching his fingers in front of him.
"I hope you’ll be able to forgive ."
Before he could say more, Sir Robert cut in sharply with an simple barked order, "Don’t start speaking in riddles, Patrick. Just tell . Quickly. What is it?"
Patrick hesitated, ran a hand through his hair, then got to his feet as if the weight of what he had to say wouldn’t let him sit still. He walked over to the side table, poured a glass of warm water from the jug, and brought it back, placing it in front of his father. "You might need this."
Sir Robert looked down at the glass, then back up at his son. "What could you have possibly done that you think I’ll need a drink to hear it? Out with it. The last ti you behaved like this was when you were in high school and had crashed your car into the neighbour’s yard!"
Patrick drew in a long breath, lips parted slightly as if the words were right there—but still, he held them back. He watched as Sir Collins picked up the glass and downed the water in a single gulp.
"There," Sir Collins said as he set the empty glass back on the table with a quiet thud. "I’ve had it. Now stop dilly dallying and speak."
Patrick swallowed hard. "I just hope... you won’t end up hating for it," he said at last, his voice low, barely more than a whisper.
Sir Robert let out a breath, sharp with irritation. "What have you done, then? Go on, out with it. How could I hate my own flesh and blood?" He paused for a beat, then narrowed his eyes. "Is it like Spencer said? Have you co back to help Adam? Is that what this is about? Because if it is—if that’s what’s been eating at you—then let save you the trouble. It won’t matter. It’s all useless now, so it makes no difference to ."
Patrick shook his head, slowly, then looked up and t his father’s gaze. "No. It’s not that," he said, quietly but firmly.
He paused, as if searching for the right words, then continued. "After I left here... you know I was just drifting. From one place to another. City to city. Country to country. I wasn’t thinking clearly. Everything felt like a fog I couldn’t get out of. I didn’t know what I was doing or why. I just... ran. Ran from this place. From myself. From everything."
This ti, Sir Roberts said nothing. He didn’t know what to say as he was assaulted with guilt all over again.
Patrick continued slowly," Anyway, after a few months, mother called . She nad the place and said I had to be there."
Sir Robert raised an eyebrow now. As far as he knew, after their son had left, Lady Collins had never seen him. So, how did... But once again, he stayed quiet.
Patrick leaned back slightly, his shoulders tense, eyes distant. "It was around the ti I was seriously considering ending everything," he said, the words blunt but quiet. "I was just... done. Every morning felt heavier than the last. I couldn’t see a way forward, and honestly, I didn’t want to. But then—out of nowhere—she called. Mother. She nad a place and said I had to be there. That was it. No explanations, no pleading, just... co."
He rubbed his palms together, slowly, as if trying to rember the warmth of that day.
"At the ti, I thought maybe it was a sign. Maybe I was supposed to see her one last ti before I left the world. So I went."
Sir Robert’s brows furrowed. He stayed silent, but a flicker of unease passed through his eyes.
Patrick’s voice lowered, turned cautious. "I hadn’t seen her in so long. She looked different. Thinner. Older. But her eyes were the sa. And they were angry—really angry."
That made Sir Robert shift in his seat, his expression tightening. He opened his mouth, then shut it again.
Patrick didn’t seem to notice as he continued, "She didn’t ask how I was. Didn’t comnt on where I’d been. She didn’t cry, didn’t even smile. She just sat down and said she was angry. At you."
That landed harder than expected. Sir Robert straightened slightly, a wary defensiveness creeping into his posture. "She was angry at ?" he echoed, slowly. "For what?" He knew she’d been angry at him about not protecting Adam but why would she take that to Patrick?
Patrick looked directly at him now. "You. She said you’d cheated on her. With soone much younger."
The words hung in the air.
Sir Robert blinked. His mouth tightened. "Patrick, your mother and I.... we had an understanding..."
Patrick held up a hand. "Just let finish."
Sir Robert fell silent again, though his jaw worked with restrained tension.
"She said it wasn’t just an affair. That the woman had your child. A baby. And that when she found out—out of sha, out of fury—she took the child from the mother. Made her leave. Threatened her, maybe. I don’t know many details. But the child... she kept it. Away from the world. Away from you."
Sir Robert’s face had drained of colour. He looked stunned, and sothing else... but it wasn’t sha. No... It was excitent. Patrick felt sick at this as he heard the older man ask," She did what?"
Patrick nodded slowly, a bitter smile just tugging at the edge of his mouth. "That’s what shocked too. Not just that you’d done it. But that Mother had done sothing so... calculated. So unlike her. And more than that she said it like a confession.
Patrick drew in a long, steadying breath. "She didn’t just tell what happened. She showed ."
He leaned back slightly, eyes distant as if watching it play out all over again. "She left the room without another word, and when she ca back... she was holding a baby. A newborn."
Sir Robert’s expression hardened, but his eyes grew distant. It was as if the very idea of such a thing being possible hadn’t fully registered.
"He was tiny. Could barely open his eyes. Wrapped in a soft blue blanket. And her hands were shaking," Patrick continued, his voice barely audible now. "She handed him to without hesitation. Just... placed him in my arms like it was the most natural thing in the world. And then she looked in the eye and said, ’He’s yours now. You will raise him well. And you will never let your father find out about him. Ever.’"
He gave a hollow laugh. "I thought she’d lost her mind. I told her I couldn’t do that. That I didn’t even know how to hold a baby properly, let alone raise one. But she wasn’t hearing it. She just repeated herself, this ti more firmly. ’Promise , Patrick. You will take him. And you will keep him safe. He cannot be brought up under his father’s na. Not after what he did to .’"
Sir Robert opened his mouth to speak, but Patrick held up a hand.
"I promised her. Not because I understood... not then. But because of how she looked. It wasn’t rage anymore. It was heartbreak. I think... I think it broke her, knowing the child existed. That your affair had resulted in sothing so permanent. But more than that, she couldn’t bear for the world to know. For the sha to follow the Collins na."
"And so you took him," Sir Robert said slowly, already making the connection, "A newborn child."
Patrick nodded. "I nad him Adir. I raised him myself. In every country I travelled to, every city I stayed in. He was my responsibility. And every ti I thought about bringing him here, thought about introducing him to you... I rembered that promise. I rembered the fire in Mother’s eyes. She didn’t ask . She made it a condition."
Sir Robert was silent. The colour had drained from his face.
"And Saira?" he asked finally, voice raw. "What about her?"
Patrick’s gaze hardened slightly. "She wasn’t allowed to see him. Mother made sure of it. She found Saira after the baby was born and took it away without giving her a chance to even hold her. The baby is not even registered under Saira’s na. His birth certificate nas you as the father and mother as the ’mother. And mother told Saira if she ever tried to co near the child, she’d make sure she vanished without a trace. I don’t know what she said exactly, but Saira was terrified. She disappeared not long after that. But of course she was by your side. Mother did give her a way to contact , but it was the sa warning. That they don’t know my identity.
Sir Robert sank deeper into his chair. "I knew your mother could be cruel when hurt... but this..."
Patrick’s tone softened again, tinged now with regret. "And I followed her orders. For years, I never let Saira see Adir. Even when I wanted to bring him here, when I thought he should know who his family really is, I couldn’t do it. I made a promise."
"And then , when Saira contacted again, I knew that she thought it was Adam’s child. I did not correct her. I thought if you see the child as Adam’s at lease you would et your child.
He paused, his voice trembling slightly. "But now... now Saira is gone. Adam is gone. And I’m not far behind them. I’ve lived with this lie long enough, and I can’t leave Adir with it too. He deserves to know who he is. And he deserves more than I’ve been able to give him while dying. That’s why I’m breaking the promise."
He looked up, locking eyes with his father.
"For his sake, not mine."
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